Ratings: ‘The Mysteries of Laura’ impresses; ‘Red Band Society’ struggles

We’ve just received our first two ratings reports on fall 2014 series, and it may be an indication of where both NBC and Fox are at right now. One of the two networks is clearly flourishing, while the other is struggling to find itself and its audience.

Overall, the premiere of “Red Band Society” was far from a winner for Fox, and it ended up drawing just a 1.3 rating in the 18-49 demographic. Fox may wait to look at many of their other series before making a big decision on what they want to do here, but this number is pretty bad for a show that had little competition on its first night. Imagine what happens next week, when it airs against “Law & Order: SVU,” the “Survivor” premiere, and “Modern Family” all at the same time.

Meanwhile, “The Mysteries of Laura” over on NBC has something to temporarily celebrate: A solid premiere with a 2.1 rating. This is not necessarily spectacular, but it held a good chunk of its “America’s Got Talent” lead-in. Its test will come next week without that, as it moves into a time Wednesdays at 8:00 p.m. Eastern time where many shows have struggled for the network over years.

Tonight and tomorrow will be reasonably quiet for the major networks, but following that, some of the craziness is really going to start to begin with new shows across every major network. As always, we’re going to be your source for early ratings, cancellations, and so much more.

What do you think about these numbers, at least based on what we know right now? Let us know your thoughts with a comment below, and head over here in the event you want some more updates on everything we cover via our CarterMatt Newsletter. These are sent out every Sunday.

Photo: Fox